The Best L.A. Turkey Trot Isn't Downtown. It's at Lake Balboa.

Ranked by what a Thanksgiving morning 5K costs, how far each race lets you go and when the gun goes off.

The best Thanksgiving turkey trot in Los Angeles starts in a Van Nuys park, costs $35 if you sign up that morning and goes as long as a half marathon.

Five trots run on Thanksgiving morning, Nov. 26, from Santa Monica to the Antelope Valley. The order turns on three things each race posts itself: the price of an adult 5K, the longest distance on offer and when the gun goes off. The hot take sits at No. 3, where downtown's Turkey Trot LA, the one with the most options, loses to a 5K that just circles the Rose Bowl.

1. Lake Balboa Turkey Trot, Van Nuys

A Better World Running brings its trot back to Woodley Park with an 8 a.m. start (one line of the listing says 7:30) and four distances: 5K, 10K, 15K and a half marathon. Race-day sign-ups cost $35 for the 5K and $50 for the half, according to its Active listing. The 10K is $40 and the 15K is $45.

That's the cheapest adult 5K here and the longest race by nearly 7 miles. The catch: a shirt costs $9.99 extra, and the listing posts only the walk-up price, not the online one. A medal, a goodie bag and chip timing come with every entry.

2. Rose Bowl Turkey Trot, Pasadena

The ninth Rose Bowl Turkey Trot is one 5K around the Rose Bowl Loop, starting and finishing in Lot K at 8:30 a.m., the latest start for an adult 5K on this list. It costs $45.52, a $3.52 fee included (its age-based price table lists $46.58 for ages 18 to 99); the Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation gets every dollar, the race says, and the whole entry is tax-deductible.

Parking in Lots F and K is free, leashed dogs can run and strollers are welcome. It's $10.52 more than Lake Balboa's walk-up 5K and there's no 10K, which is why it's second and not first.

3. Turkey Trot LA, downtown

Turkey Trot LA starts at Los Angeles City Hall, raises money for the Midnight Mission and sells the biggest menu of the five on Race Roster. A 5K costs $49.90 at 8 or 8:15 a.m. The 10K is $54.90 and goes off at 9, the latest adult start of any race here.

There's also a 1-mile Dog Jog at 7:30 a.m. for $41.90, where every person walking a dog needs their own entry, and a Widdle Wobble at 10:15 for $23.90. Fees are baked in, and every finisher gets a medal and a shirt.

So why third? The same 5K costs $4.38 more than Pasadena's and starts 15 to 30 minutes earlier. It's also the placement I'm least sure of: if you want a 10K and a little more sleep, flip it with the Rose Bowl and I won't fight you.

4. Antelope Valley Family YMCA Turkey Trot

The Y's 18th annual trot runs a 5K and a 10K at 8 a.m. on Thanksgiving, while the kids' 1K Gobble Wobble goes the afternoon before, Nov. 25 at 4:30 p.m. Online entry runs through Nov. 23 at $55 for the 5K and $65 for the 10K. In person, those climb to $60 and $70.

That's the priciest 5K you can still buy. The early-bird rate ended with October, and the page promised a guaranteed shirt and medal only to people who signed up before Nov. 1. It doesn't say where the course runs.

5. Turkey Day Trot, Santa Monica

Last, because grown-ups can't get in. On RunSignup, the $52.93 5K and the $37.03 1-miler are both marked sold out. The 9 a.m. Kids Dash is still open at $22.20, with 54 spots left on the sign-up page.

Three doors stay open later than the rest. The Rose Bowl takes sign-ups until 9:15 a.m. on Thanksgiving, 45 minutes after its own start, Lake Balboa sells race-day entries, with check-in opening at 6:15 that morning, and the Antelope Valley Y takes in-person sign-ups from 6 to 8 a.m.

Source: active.com, retrieved November 1, 2026. Other sources: runsignup.com, runsignup.com (2), raceroster.com, runsignup.com (3), secure2.convio.net.